Japanese illustrator and game developer Viv has confirmed that This Game is Not Real, a psychological horror BL visual novel, will no longer launch on Steam.
The announcement was made on May 13, with Viv explaining that the game did not meet Steam’s release criteria. Its Steam store page also appears to have been removed, which is a painful hit for an indie project that had reportedly built up around 24,000 wishlists.
That number matters. For indie games, especially visual novels, Steam wishlists are basically oxygen — they help with visibility, launch momentum, and algorithm discovery. Losing that storefront right before release is not just a small platform switch. It means the developer has to rebuild the path to players almost from scratch.
So what is This Game is Not Real?
This Game is Not Real is a meta psychological horror visual novel about two male game creators whose relationship turns obsessive and destructive. The setup is already very weird in a good way: instead of simply controlling a character, the player takes the role of the actual “game” being created by one of the developers.
Gameplay mixes point-and-click exploration with story sections. You talk to the developer, help debug the project, and dig through fragments of memory hidden inside the game’s data. As the story unfolds, the player slowly pieces together the developer’s past while guiding him toward finishing the game.
This is not a soft, cosy VN, by the way. The game is aimed at adults aged 18 and above, with themes including violence, self-harm, murder, sexual content, and other heavy material.
Moving to DLsite and BOOTH instead
Since Steam is no longer happening, Viv now plans to release This Game is Not Real through Japanese platforms DLsite and BOOTH. According to Automaton Media, the issue does not appear to be technical. It is more likely connected to the game’s content.
Viv also joked in replies that maybe the adult men in the game were “too cute” for the platform, while admitting they had been unsure from the beginning whether the sexual scenes would become a problem. Very indie-dev energy, honestly — a bit chaotic, but also very real.
The good news: the game is still expected to release later this month on DLsite and BOOTH. The not-so-good news for international fans is that it will only support Japanese at launch.
Viv has said official support for other languages is planned for the future, and fan-made translation patches are also welcome in the meantime.
Why SEA players should care
For Malaysian and SEA fans, this is one of those niche-but-important stories. Steam is still the easiest PC platform for most of us — regional pricing, simple payments, wishlists, library management, Steam Deck support, community updates, all that convenience. When a game skips Steam, it becomes much harder for casual fans here to discover or buy it.
DLsite and BOOTH are familiar names if you already follow Japanese doujin games, indie VNs, BL circles, or niche horror projects. But for the average Malaysian PC gamer, they are still more intimidating than just clicking “Add to cart” during a Steam sale.
The language barrier is the bigger wall. A psychological horror VN lives and dies by its writing, so unless you can read Japanese or are willing to wait for translations, SEA players may have to sit tight for now.
Still, this is worth keeping an eye on. BL visual novels, meta horror, and experimental Japanese indie games have quietly built strong fanbases across Southeast Asia. If This Game is Not Real gets proper English support later, it could find the exact kind of audience that loves dark, weird, emotionally messy games.
For now, the Steam wishlist crowd got unlucky. But the game itself is not dead — it is just taking the more niche route.
Source: Automaton Media